Senior hitter Tezra Rudzitis propelled the No. 4-seeded Tommies to a 3-1 victory (25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23) over No. 1-seeded South Dakota State, winning the Summit League championship and clinching a spot in the NCAA tournament.
This marks the first automatic qualification to a Division I NCAA tournament for St. Thomas athletics and third St. Thomas team to appear in an NCAA tournament after men’s and women’s track and field competed in the midwest regionals on Nov. 14.
“I have no words. They just played so hard tonight. Give credit to SDSU … for our girls, it was a battle, and we knew what it would come down to. It was exactly what we thought,” coach Thanh Pham told MidcoSports after the game. “Whether you have emotions as you play, it comes down to execution.”
In the fourth set, the Tommies went on a 5-2 run to close out the game. Senior middle blocker Megan Wetter tallied the last point of the game after an ace by senior defensive specialist Allie Kopp, two kills by first-year outside hitter Anya Schmidt and a combined block by Rudzitis and Wetter.
After the game, Rudzitis cried as she celebrated, wiping her tears. Rudzitis hugged her teammates as she celebrated with the rest of her team. All of them sported championship hats and shirts.
“We put in so much hard work, and it’s just so cool to see it all paid off,” Rudzitis said. “It’s the best feeling in the world that I get to do it with so many awesome girls. I’m beyond excited. It’s literally a dream for all of us. We’re so excited.”
Rudzitis posted 22 kills with a .327 hitting percentage. Two other Tommies reached double-digit kills. Schmidt racked 12 kills on .171 hitting, and Wetter with 11 kills on .321 hitting. Wetter also led the Tommies with six blocks.
The Tommies started the first set on a 6-1 run, finished the frame on a 7-3 run and never trailed on the set. St. Thomas dropped the second set after South Dakota State went on a 8-0 run halfway through the frame. The Tommies bounced back and captured the third set after three consecutive Rudzitis kills to end the frame.
South Dakota State finished the regular season undefeated in the conference and entered the tournament on a 16-game winning streak. In both meetings during the season, the Jackrabbits outplayed the Tommies 6-2.
St. Thomas will find out their NCAA Tournament opponent Sunday Nov. 30.
Juan Del Valle can be reached out at delv9625@stthomas.edu.
